Early Bird Should ALWAYS Board before family boarding!

[vollyhawk]

I am a frequent S/W flier. Despite the complaints I'm going to make, I think that S/W is one of the best airlines to fly. That being said, there is a problem with the Early Bird system in general. I understand that on popular routes (i.e. Balt to Orlando) the flights are always full and the Early Bird policy does not guarantee a person to be in the A Boarding Group. The boarding policy; however, should be changed so that after A1-A60 board, the next group to board should be military (with ID) and Early Bird customers BEFORE family boarding. Why? Because family boarders traditionally have C Boarding passes and they did not pay Southwest Airlines a dime to board early. Early Bird customers did pay extra and should receive the benefit of those fees. Holding a B Boarding pass and then having to wait for family boarding when you are heading to a Disney destination is worthless. Either refund the money or allow Early Bird to board before family boarding. It makes sense. It is fair. If you are worried about families finding seats together, then limit the number of Early Bird tickets so someone can't even purchase one if they are filling up the plane too much.

[SoCalFlyer97]

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@vollyhawk wrote:

I am a frequent S/W flier. Despite the complaints I'm going to make, I think that S/W is one of the best airlines to fly. That being said, there is a problem with the Early Bird system in general. I understand that on popular routes (i.e. Balt to Orlando) the flights are always full and the Early Bird policy does not guarantee a person to be in the A Boarding Group. The boarding policy; however, should be changed so that After the A-Group Boards:after A1-A60 board, the next group to board should be military (with ID) and Early Bird customers BEFORE family boarding. Why? Because family boarders traditionally have C Boarding passes and they did not pay Southwest Airlines a dime to board early. Early Bird customers did pay extra and should receive the benefit of those fees. Holding a B Boarding pass and then having to wait for family boarding when you are heading to a Disney destination is worthless. Either refund the money or allow Early Bird to board before family boarding. It makes sense. It is fair. If you are worried about families finding seats together, then limit the number of Early Bird tickets so someone can't even purchase one if they are filling up the plane too much.

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Hello-

I would forward your suggestion directly to Southwest as this forum is Customer-to-Customer.

https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/

However, most likely I don't think the airline is going to change this rule (I could be wrong).

I can certainly understand the frustration of buying Early Bird Check-in (EB) only to be placed well into the B Group. This forum is flooded with all kinds of EB commentary.

Usually a deep B assignment with an EB purchase means several folks are buying EB. While I don't normally buy EB (I usually opt for Upgraded Boarding and buy it at the 24 hour mark), I've experienced similar situations firsthand when checking into a full flight at the 24 hour mark with a WGA+ fare only to be assigned way deep into B. Other times, I can snag an A30 or better. 

Keep in mind of a few things of EB:

1. Provided that you bought your flight at least 36 hours in advance and did not do any same-day flight changes on the day of travel, one key perk of EB is your boarding spot is held at the 36 hour mark which means you do not have to check in at the 24 hour mark to claim a spot. You will still be ahead of those (like me) who need to manually check in at the 24 hour mark to secure a boarding spot.
   
   
2. Per an official Southwest Tweet reply, here is the order that Southwest assigns at the 36 hour mark:
   Boarding positions are assigned in this order: Business Select, A-List Preferred, A-List, Anytime fares, EarlyBird. EarlyBird boarding positions can vary, and you are not guaranteed to get an "A" group boarding assignment.
   https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir/status/1594125108129722370
   
   
3. Note that A-List Preferred, A-List gets their Priority Boarding positions assigned after Business Select as part of their elite status followed by Anytime Fares. 
   
   
4. EB spots are assigned in the order of purchase. First to buy get the first spots.  

After the Preboard and A-Group Boards, there are several groups that board before the B-Group boards: A-List Preferred/A-List not in an A-Group, Family Boarding, Active Duty Military, Disability Passengers Needing Extra Time

I think if EB were added to this list, there would be a flood of passengers lining up at the gate without any sequential order; hence, I don't think Southwest is going to change this policy.

Keep in mind that if you hold a B30 or better position, you'll most likely still be able to find 2 seats together toward the rear of the plane (both window and aisle options) with available space in the overhead bins.

[vollyhawk]

Very good data, and I agree with almost all of what you said; however, 

A. Southwest could make this better with a software change by cutting off Early Bird purchases when all A Group boarding passes are gone.

-or-

B. Allow Early Bird people who have paid real $$ to board before family boarding.

It is that simple, but they won't because this is about income via the EB fees collected.

Purchasing EB amounts to "gambling". You are paying money and hoping you get an A Boarding pass and you have no idea if you will or not. Why should there be a gamble? S/W should just insure that you'll go as soon as possible over anyone else who didn't pay extra.

I also didn't touch on gate agents enforcement of Southwest policy for family boarding, although many others do on here. 

Gate agents often send those needing extra time to get down the gangway first. Even before A Boarding.  They also do not enforce the family boarding policy of two adults only with the child or children under 7. I see huge families line up, aunts, uncles, etc. 

I just don't believe the company should sell Early Bird boarding if you don't board before families holding C boarding passes. If families want to sit close to each other, then they should have to buy that option.

[SoCalFlyer97]

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@vollyhawk wrote:

Very good data, and I agree with almost all of what you said; however, 

A. Southwest could make this better with a software change by cutting off Early Bird purchases when all A Group boarding passes are gone.

-or-

B. Allow Early Bird people who have paid real $$ to board before family boarding.

It is that simple, but they won't because this is about income via the EB fees collected.

Purchasing EB amounts to "gambling". You are paying money and hoping you get an A Boarding pass and you have no idea if you will or not. Why should there be a gamble? S/W should just insure that you'll go as soon as possible over anyone else who didn't pay extra.

I also didn't touch on gate agents enforcement of Southwest policy for family boarding, although many others do on here. 

Gate agents often send those needing extra time to get down the gangway first. Even before A Boarding.  They also do not enforce the family boarding policy of two adults only with the child or children under 7. I see huge families line up, aunts, uncles, etc. 

I just don't believe the company should sell Early Bird boarding if you don't board before families holding C boarding passes. If families want to sit close to each other, then they should have to buy that option.

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I can see the idea to cap EB sales but I don't think the airline is going to consider changing this policy as the primary benefit of EB is "Automatic check-in" per the Marketing language on their website; the second being "Better boarding position" with the statement that an A-position is not guaranteed. There are passengers who like the convenience of having the airline do an auto-check in and are willing to pay for it. Capping EB sales would alienate this group.

Even in my "You're going to (destination)" confirmation emails, the marketing message for EB is "Don't miss out on automatic check-in: EarlyBird Check-In reserves your boarding position at 36 hours before your flight, earlier than regular check-in."

As mentioned, I don't opt for EB because I have the ability to check in at the 24 hour mark and can purchase Upgraded Boarding if I get a deep-in-the-B boarding position.

I believe Family Boarding is where it needs to be and left as-is because it involves traveling with children ages six and under; it is best that there be enough open seats on the plane where the child can sit together with at least one of the accompanying adults.

If you're looking for a solid A-position, I would suggest going forward if you book WGA or WGA+ (and if you're able to check in manually at the 24 hour mark) to opt for Upgraded Boarding once you check in instead of buying EB.

Purchasing for Upgraded Boarding opens at the 24 hour mark to sell the remaining A1-A15 slots that were not sold as part of Business Select. It does cap out once all of the A1-A15 slots are sold. It's a little more pricey than EB and the benefit is per flight segment, but if there are spots available, you'll be in the A1-A15 group. I've always been able to snag a solid position at the 24 mark, even for full flights headed in the peak travel direction (e.g. SAN to LAS on a Friday). Just keep in mind that Upgraded Boarding is not refundable and any passenger-initiated same-day flight changes or standby's forfeits the purchase.

https://www.southwest.com/upgraded-boarding/

I would also still send your original letter to Southwest and they should also be able to provide you with some official information and tips on these two services.

Also, being a frequent flyer, do you think you may hit A-List before 2024? If so, that's another option as you'll be ahead of both the EB and Anytime fare group in terms of boarding position if you buy your flight at least 36 hours in advance. You'll also be able to board in between the A and B groups as a worst case scenario.

Hope this helps!

[floridaguy]

I wouldn't bother paying a dime for EBCI.  It has been debated dozens of times on this board and it is of questionable value, especially if you are expecting an earlier boarding position.

"Family Boarding" as it is called should be changed to "Child Assist" since you have to have a child under the age of seven for the policy to even ignite.  Here is another sore subject where families believe that traveling together means that they board together and sit together.  If you are NOT under the age of seven, you will not use "Family Boarding" unless you are at MCO where gate agents allow anything.

[parpitt1]

For better or worse EBCI is just that Early Check In, It is NOT "Get A Better Boarding Position." Is it a waste of money for the consumer if they believe they are guaranteed an improved boarding position? Absolutely.

The family boarding policy is equitable if it is actually enforced, in my opinion, but I completely understand your perspective.

That being said, identifying yourself as a frequent flyer of Southwest seems pretty subjective to me. We must have different definitions of what constitutes a frequent flyer. Now I understand if you are not rapid rewards member, but if you aren't and you actually fly with any frequency, you should be. Because if you fly with any frequency you would be a A-list member and EBCI would be a non-issue. 

Southwest hands out A-list status to almost everyone who flies several times a year.

(A-List Preferred? now that's a tougher nut, but this year with all the promotions I'm good for 2024 already.)

Safe Travels  

[vollyhawk]

Okay first, did you mean to say several times a month? You need 25 flights in a year get that status. I can see that my definition of "frequent" and your definition of "several" are what is subjective! The fact that one can eventually obtain A-list status does not negate the argument. Secondly why would a person check in early if they didn't want to get a better boarding position? If you are a business traveler with a carry on, you buy EB to insure you will find bin space and perhaps a seat closer to the front so you can be off the plane before all the mouse ears. Southwest should just fix this. It is an easy fix too. In my opinion, they just want to continue to receive EB fees. I'm probably much more sensitive to this issue since my route is always BWI to MCO.  

[DancingDavidE]

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@vollyhawk wrote:

Okay first, did you mean to say several times a month? You need 25 flights in a year get that status. 

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1 or 2 RT flights per month being enough to get there so it might be 1-2 every month or "several" in half the months.

But overall the clear answer for you if you've observed this situation several times is that you should rely on either upgraded boarding (if available) or buy BS fares if you are worried about the families at MCO. If EBCI doesn't do anything for you, then don't buy it...I see your suggestions applying at MCO but to extend that to the rest of the network based on one airport might be a stretch at the corporate office.

I fly MCO a few times a year, I have seen the agents bump people out of line, make them consolidate, limit family boarding to an appropriate number of people or sometimes +1. Nothing wrong with enforcing current policies where they are lax, but I don't see the policy being changed.